Old-fashioned molasses cookies
Growing up in the Midwest, cookies played a major part of my December. Throughout the holiday season, we gathered at my grandparent鈥檚 home for various parties and meals, always entering their home via the garage and past the cookies. Perched on the woodpile, the cookies lived in old tins between layers of wax paper and were kept cold by the Michigan winter.
This holiday staple, a recipe by my grandmother, produces a soft and chewy cookie with a dense crumb and can easily be scaled up or down.
The American trompe l鈥檕eil artist John Frederick Peto depicted ordinary objects at their actual size in his paintings. Peto worked within the genre throughout his career and "The Poor Man鈥檚 Store" is an early example of his aesthetic style. The jumble of goods displayed through an open window in the painting portrays candies and fruit, gingerbread, and nuts.
According to historical accounts, this shop window would have been a common sight on the streets of Philadelphia. Due to the disorderly arrangement of the humble items, Peto rarely had wealthy patrons and his work was often misattributed to the more successful tromp l鈥檕eil painter William Harnett by unscrupulous art dealers ().
Old-fashioned Molasses Cookies
Recipe by my grandmother
Yield: around 72 cookies
1-1/2 cups sugar
聽1 cup butter
聽2 eggs
聽1/2 cup molasses
聽3 teaspoons baking soda
聽1/2 cup water
聽5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
聽1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
聽1 teaspoon ginger
聽1 teaspoon ground cloves
聽1 teaspoon salt
Mix sugar, butter, eggs and molasses. Dissolve baking soda in water; stir into molasses mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. (190 degrees C.). Roll dough 1/4-inch thick on lightly floured cloth covered board. Cut with favorite cutter. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet.聽Bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.
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